Platform Powered by Biz2Credit Automates Loan Forgiveness Application for Small Business Owners

NEW YORK (July 20, 2020) – The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and its business and technology arm, CPA.com, today announced the launch of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness platform, PPPForgivenessTool.com, which automates the forgiveness process for small business owners who received funds from the PPP.

The dynamic platform, powered by fintech lender Biz2Credit, incorporates the PPP forgiveness calculator created by the AICPA in May and is available to any business approved for a PPP loan, regardless of the lender or bank they worked with to receive funding. Borrowers or their CPA advisors can log onto the platform to fill out the forgiveness application and the tool produces all government-mandated forms automatically. The PPP applicant will be able to electronically sign the 3508 or 3508 EZ forms and all the required source documents will also be included in a downloadable file that can be provided to their lenders. The platform will likely save hours of manual work for any applicant going through the process.

The PPP is part of the CARES Act stimulus package and is designed to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to maintain operations and payroll. PPP loans are forgivable if borrowers follow guidelines on payroll spending set by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department, which administer the loan program.

“For the past three months, we have been very actively engaged in providing resources and tools to support the 44,000 CPA firms in the critical role they’ve played for the five million businesses that applied for PPP loans,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “We are now incorporating our PPP calculation and process recommendations into a dynamic PPP Forgiveness Tool to help drive a simple and effective forgiveness process. Our broader goal with this tool is to also to help drive a common approach to this process with the payroll and lender communities.”

PPPForgivenessTool.com is an open architecture platform developed by Biz2Credit using its proprietary Biz2X Platform. The platform incorporates the AICPA’s PPP loan forgiveness calculator, a template that reflects all current SBA and Treasury guidance on PPP forgiveness. The Loan Amount and PPP Calculators provide a commonly accepted approach to many PPP issues not covered by definitive guidance and have been downloaded by tens of thousands of firms since April. The platform is being offered without charge to small businesses and CPA firms applying for forgiveness.

Back in April, AICPA formed a working coalition with leading payroll providers to help provide ongoing guidance and recommendations around PPP for small businesses and CPA firms. This small business funding coalition has also maintained an ongoing dialogue with lenders, another key stakeholder in small business success.

Thanks to the platform’s open architecture, members of the AICPA’s coalition and other service providers can integrate into PPPForgivenessTool.com with ease. Payroll providers and other companies that hold small business data are able to automate the import of source data they hold, such as payroll reports, thereby increasing the speed at which businesses can complete their forgiveness applications.

“This online platform will produce a finalized forgiveness application that a borrower can take right to their lender for submission without any extra work,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance and fintech. "It is extremely important right now for companies that serve small businesses to come together to help these business owners benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program. An open architecture platform like this is an invitation to any company that works with small businesses, including PPP lenders. Come and join the coalition, integrate to the platform and help your small business customers at this critical time.”

Final Treasury and SBA FAQs on PPP forgiveness are expected to be released soon and the PPP Loan Forgiveness Tool will be updated to reflect any new changes. Based on this, we recommend that borrowers and CPA firms wait for the final guidance before generating the final signed SBA form 3508.

For more information, visit www.pppforgivenesstool.com. A brief overview of the tool for borrowers is available in this video, while another demonstrates how CPA firms can make use of the platform.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

About Biz2Credit

Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $3 billion in small business financing. Biz2Credit is focused on funding what’s next for small business. The company leverages data, cash flow insights, and the latest technology to give business owners an automated small business funding platform to fit their financial needs. With over 350 employees globally, the Biz2Credit team – made up of top-notch engineers, marketers, and data scientists – is building the next generation in business lending solutions.

Biz2Credit has been named to Inc. Magazine’s Private Titans list for 2020, is a three-time winner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and was named a Great Place to Work in 2020 and 2019. Headquartered in New York City, the company recently raised a $52M Series B round of investment in 2019.

Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About Biz2X

Biz2Credit’s Biz2X Platform offers banks and other financial institutions the ability to streamline their digital loan application processes, better manage risk. Biz2X is a global SaaS platform that powers growth with a modern client experience and leading risk tools. Leading financial brands from the Fortune 100 to regional and community banks have chosen to launch new online lending initiatives with the platform’s modular architecture, digital loan origination workflow and proven risk analytics.

For more information, visit Biz2X.com.

Wainman Remains in Executive Chairman Role Responsible for Innovation

TORONTO (July 14, 2020) – CaseWare International Inc. today reinforced its defining commitment to innovation in audit and accounting technology by naming veteran software executive Matt Dodds its new Chief Executive Officer. The move is part of a broader management expansion for the leading global provider of cloud-enabled audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions.

Dodds had previously served as General Manager of CaseWare IDEA, a data analytics software division of the parent firm. Dwight Wainman, CaseWare’s founder, president and CEO for the past 32 years, will become executive chair and focus on the company’s global innovation initiatives, including the Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS), an audit-of-the-future project being developed with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), CPA.com and leading CPA firms.

“The accounting profession is at an inflection point, with significant changes coming to audit and assurance practices due to technology and new methodologies,” Wainman said. “CaseWare is a significant part of this evolving story, and our work with AICPA is fundamental to this transformation. Matt has distinguished himself at CaseWare IDEA and I’m confident he will drive the day-to-day management of the company as I shift my focus entirely to work on driving innovation and transformative change.”

“We’re excited that this change allows Dwight to focus solely on innovation and advancing our joint effort with firms around DAS,” added Susan Coffey, the AICPA’s Executive Vice President, Public Practice.

Dodds brings diverse experience in technology to his new role as CEO. The Cambridge University-educated engineer served as COO of Jibestream and held various leadership positions at Volaris Group, a division of Constellation Software, before joining CaseWare IDEA in 2017 as General Manager. “Matt’s promotion to CEO shows the deep bench strength at CaseWare and positions the company well for what will be a transformative period for the accounting profession,” according to Erik Asgeirsson, President and CEO of CPA.com, the business and technology arm of the AICPA.

“I am honoured to take on this role and to help build on the pioneering audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions CaseWare has delivered to global markets over the past 30 years,” Dodds explained. “But more importantly, I’m excited to bring all of our capabilities together within one unified cloud platform, transforming CaseWare into a cloud-first business.”

CaseWare Head of Business Development Ross Hampton, who plays a critical role working closely with the AICPA and CPA.com, brings over 20 years of experience in the information technology and financial services industry to the CaseWare team and will continue to lead its activities in the U.S. market.

As this transition takes place, CaseWare is reassuring staff and global customers that there are no other changes to day-to-day operations at this time, and that this decision signals a renewed commitment to the company’s founding principles of innovation, a high standard of excellence, and compliance for firms worldwide.

About CaseWare

CaseWare International Inc. is the leading global provider of cloud enabled audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions. With efficiency, quality and value in mind, CaseWare provides cutting-edge technology to accounting firms, businesses and government entities. Over 400,000 users, in 130 countries and in 16 languages, use CaseWare solutions.

Cloud Solution Transforms Process for “Limited Scope” Audits of Employee Benefit Plans

NEW YORK (June 25, 2020) — The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), CPA.com and CaseWare International Inc. today announced the launch of OnPoint EBP, a cloud solution designed to facilitate the efficient and effective performance of “limited scope” employee benefit plan audits.

OnPoint EBP is powered by the CaseWare Cloud platform and designed for audits of employee benefit plans pursuant to ERISA Section 103 (a)(3)(C). It combines AICPA-developed methodology, engagement management, analytics, advanced client collaboration tools and links to authoritative guidance within a single application.

“The tools many auditors rely on today for employee benefit plan audits are inefficient, requiring manual data entry, redundant processes and outdated, on-premise technology,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, the business and technology arm of the AICPA. “We’ve seen how modern, cloud-based solutions have transformed client accounting services, and OnPoint EBP brings many of the same elements of efficiency and quality to limited scope EBP audits.”

Technology and evolving standards are transforming the way audits are being conducted. The AICPA has been a leader in this area, particularly in its work to define and develop the audit of the future through projects such as the Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS). The AICPA has committed significant resources over the last six years to promote and improve the quality of audit engagements through the Enhancing Audit Quality initiative, a data-driven program to improve auditors’ performance through guidance, peer review and other measures.

“This is one more step in our evolution of resources to support firms in their performance of quality services,” said Sue Coffey, CPA, CGMA, the AICPA’s executive vice president of public practice. “Technology will never eliminate the need for a CPA’s professional judgment and expertise in audits. But equipping auditors with the best tools can help facilitate greater quality and provide better insights during their engagements. That’s been one of the guiding principles behind our efforts in this area.”

There are close to 84,000 employee benefit plan audits conducted in the United States each year, almost 70 percent of which are limited scope audits. Of the 5,000 CPA firms that perform EBP audits, a little more than half do four or fewer engagements each year.

Employee benefit plan features can vary widely. OnPoint EBP drives quality and efficiency through its unique Plan Profile, which functions as a powerful scoping tool to identify specific features and nuances of the plan under audit. Among other advantages, the tool:

• Improves auditor understanding of the employee benefit plan and its provisions
• Provides a guided approach to risk identification and assessment
• Integrates diagnostics to indicate when an auditor’s response warrants additional consideration or when someone chooses a non-standard path
• Automates drafting of financial statements and note disclosures as a permissible nonattest service
• Streamlines audit processes with dynamic content and workflow
• Facilitates collaboration with the client and engagement team

OnPoint EBP is commercially available to all firms through CPA.com and may be used for ERISA limited scope audits both currently and after the adoption of SAS 136 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA.

For more information on OnPoint EBP, including a product overview, key benefits, pricing and training, visit cpa.com/onpoint-ebp.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

About CaseWare

CaseWare International Inc. is the leading global provider of cloud enabled audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions. With efficiency, quality and value in mind, CaseWare provides cutting-edge technology to accounting firms, businesses and government entities. Over 400,000 users, in 130 countries and in 16 languages, use CaseWare solutions.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. economy has made the role of accountants and other finance professionals more urgent, especially as non-essential businesses across the country are forced to close and make critical operational decisions. CPAs were particularly in the spotlight last week as the tax-filing deadline was extended to July 15 in response to the crisis.

It is important that CPAs keep abreast of these fast-moving updates, said American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon, recommending the AICPA’s coronavirus online resource center as a good starting point. He also explained that CPAs can currently offer more to clients than just meeting these new deadlines.

“If you think of the makeup of the profession, the knowledge, we are extraordinarily well-positioned,” Melancon told Accounting Today. “It’s way more than complying with the tax deadline, financial reporting. Those things are important, but way bigger is real solid decision-making. Our economy will fight to bounce back; I see an opportunity to do that, a path to do that. … People from every type of organization have the potential for a powerful impact on good decision-making and how to come out of this. It’s probably the greatest opportunity for our profession to affect the economy.”

Beyond financial expertise, accountants might find themselves especially in-demand for their practicality, Melancon predicted.

“I think that we have this incredible obligation and opportunity — not from an opportunistic [standpoint] — but the opportunity to impact a very serious situation in the economy,” Melancon continued. “It’s all about how we are trusted, knowledgeable, ethical people in this profession — those are true statements. Right now, we can be a calming force for clients; if you work for a company, you can be a calming force for good decisions. We can be realists [and] help people work through some difficult decisions.”

Amid this pandemic, both Melancon and CPA.com president and CEO Erik Asgeirsson (pictured) have been in communication with accounting firms and AICPA members, as well as the other organizations comprising a coalition they formed to ask the U.S. government to direct any coronavirus relief funds to small businesses through payroll processors. These conversations have inspired optimism, according to Asgeirsson, who added that firms that have adopted the technology solutions that thought leaders like those at CPA.com have been evangelizing for years are at an advantage.

“We’ve both been talking to a lot of firms, and like everyone, they’re focused on the safety of employees and doing an excellent job, making sure people work remote and take care of their situations,” Asgeirsson shared. “The second thing is a focus on helping clients navigate unprecedented times, to really be set up to operate in this environment. What happened with cloud-enabled solutions was they are able to support businesses and clients wherever they are and are actually operating today. Things have changed [but] we are operating and connected and will be in a position to support clients in these uncharted waters.”

The AICPA and CPA.com are prepared to continue helping CPAs in these unprecedented times, Asgeirsson said.

“Some firms need a little assistance in getting modern platforms up and running, and we continue to provide those services,” he explained. “We’re also aware these firms are knowledge workers and are invested in systems that can support clients, and can play a big role. It’s an otherwise fortunate position to be in, that we can still provide these services. We’ve also seen states declare [CPAs] as essential services.”

As the spread of the coronavirus, and the government and economic response to it, continues to accelerate, preserving connectivity will be critical, according to Melancon and Asgeirsson.

“It’s amazing how fast this is all going,” Asgeirsson observed. “Communication matters.”

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has petitioned President Donald Trump to enact a faster system of payment for small- to medium-sized businesses as the coronavirus pandemic rolls on in the country, stalling the economy, according to reports.

The AICPA was joined by the International Franchise Association and two payroll companies, Paychex and Intuit, in penning the open letter to Trump. The proposition is for the federal government to set up a new centralized system in which SMB payroll processors could funnel finances to businesses to help them keep paying employees.

AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon said this would be the most efficient way to get payroll processes running and help money get to those that need it, as well as assisting in getting things running again once the pandemic has eased up at some point.

The coalition emphasized that the plan would especially help out businesses that have been forced to lay off workers or close their doors as the crisis continues to unfold and people have to practice social distancing.

However, the funds for this project would depend on the passage of a financial aid and relief measure in Congress, which had not happened as of Tuesday (March 24). Several attempts at such were blocked by Democrats in Congress who said the measures did not go far enough toward protecting workers and instead focused more on corporate interests.

There are more payroll companies looking to join this coalition and voice support, according to officials. The AICPA is prepared to continue responding to Washington’s actions, hoping that whatever Congress decides to do will align with the coalition’s goals.

Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, said one reason this could work well is that the system is mostly already in place, as payroll companies know who needs to get paid and how much. All that’s missing, he said, is the centralized hub that would bring it all under the government’s roof.